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B a s e b a l l
M e x i c o
Monday, December 5, 2022
HIRED, FIRED, REHIRED: BENJI GIL'S MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
Benji Gil had a most interesting
month in November, even by Mexican baseball standards. First, the
former
Rangers and Angels infielder was picked to manage Mexico in next year's
World
Baseball Classic. Then he was fired as manager of the Mexican Pacific
League's
Culiacan Tomateros, only to be reinstated and back in the dugout within
hours
of being sacked. Even for someone like Gil, as voluble as he is
volatile,
that's a head-spinning series of events. Ready? Here we go...
After leading Mexico to a
sixth-place finish at last year's Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Gil will
manage the
Verdes Grande at the World Baseball Classic 2023. The 50-year-old Gil
served as
a coach with the Los Angeles Angels last summer under managers Joe
Maddon and
Phil Nevin after managing Guadalajara's expansion team in the Mexican
League in
2021, earning Manager of the Year honors that season. As a player, Gil
participated in the World Baseball Classic 2006. He played eight MLB
seasons as
a utility infielder and was on the 2002 World Series-winning Los
Angeles Angels
roster.
"Benji Gil is a winner,"
commented National Team general manager Rodrigo Lopez, a starting
pitcher and
Gil teammate for Mexico in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. "As a
player,
he is on the list of World Series winners; as a manager, he's shown
leadership,
attitude and passion. He is fluent in English and Spanish and knows the
Mexican
Leagues as well as the Big Leagues."
Ranked fourth in the world, Mexico
will compete in Group C of the WBC and face host USA (ranked fifth),
Colombia
(#11), Canada (#12) and Great Britain (#23) in Phoenix from March 11
through 15
next year. So far, so good but as November drew to a close, things got
weird.
First, he was fired last Monday as
helmsman in Culiacan, where he had managed the Tomateros to four
pennants (but
no Caribbean Series titles) in six winters. However, the team had a
cumulative
16-25 record this current season, including a last-place finish in the
first
half with 14 wins over 35 contests. Bench coach Noe Munoz was also let
go as
the team's board of directors issued the usual thanks for
professionalism to
both as the door was hitting them on the way out. While MLB fans may be
shocked
over the dismissal of a manager who had been one win away from a fifth
pennant
since 2014 last season, as Culiacan lost the LMP championship series to
Jalisco
in seven contests last January, it's a common occurance south of the
border.
What happened next, though, is a bit rarer.
In officially announcing the ouster
of both Gil and Munoz last Tuesday at noon, a press release from the
team
stated that Tomateros bullpen coach and former pitching star Francisco
Campos
(who also manages Campeche in the Mexican League) would be Gil's
replacement in
the dugout beginning with that night's home game against Guasave. This
brought
an immediate response from the Culiacan players, who let the board know
in no
uncertain terms during an impromptu meeting that afternoon that they
supported
their deposed skipper. After the meeting ended, it was announced by
Campos
himself (alongside sports manager Mario Valdez) that both Gil and Munoz
would
be back that night.
"Upon arriving at the stadium,
the boys approached me and told me that it's nothing against me, that I
shouldn't take it in that way, but they wanted to talk to Benjamín to
let him
know that they want him to return," said Campos, who remains as bullpen
coach.
"They
asked for an opportunity to show that they can make a difference and
that they
can make positive results to obtain victories, they wanted Benjamin to
return,
Mr. Héctor (Ley, executive president) said that they should talk to him
and if
I accepted, go ahead."
The Tomateros indeed went ahead and
split their first six games after Gil's reprieve.
NARANJEROS WIN, PULL GAME AHEAD OF MOCHIS
With just over three weeks remaining
in the Mexican Pacific League's regular season schedule, there has not
been a
lot of separation between teams twelve games into the second-half
standings.
Los Mochis was in the driver's seat a week ago but first-half champion
Hermosillo was never far behind and the two teams found themselves in a
tie for
first on Saturday before the Naranjeros pulled into a one-game lead by
virtue
of their 12-5 win at home over Monterrey while the Caneros dropped a
5-1
decision to visiting Jalisco Sunday.
The Orangemen had to overcome an
early 3-0 deficit after Ricardo Serrano socked a three-run homer off
starter
Jose Samayoa in the top of the first, but knotted the game up at 3-3 in
the
bottom of the frame, thanks in part to a two-run roundtripper by Luis
Alfonso
Cruz off Sultanes opener Frank Duncan.
The two teams went back and for the
the next few innings and the score was 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth
when Cruz
singled in Jasson Atondo and Scott Schebler scored on a fielding error
by
Monterrey second baseman Alberto Carreon to make it a 7-5 game. A
five-run
outburst in the eighth put the game away for Hermosillo as Ramon
Mendoza stroked
an RBI double and Cesar Salazar, Roberto Ramos (who'd homered earlier)
and
Atondo chipped in with run-scoring singles to end the scoring as 11,395
spectators watched at Estadio Sonora.
Hermosillo now leads the LMP second
half with a 9-3 record, just ahead of 8-4 Los Mochis. The Caneros fell
at home
to Jalisco Sunday, 5-1, as Julian Ornelas scored on a sacrifice fly in
the top
of the third to give the Charros a 1-0 lead that they'd build to 5-0
until
Brayan Mendoza plated the Caneros' lone run of the night on a Justin
Dean
single. Ornelas went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, adding a
two-run homer
off reliever Daniel Duarte in the top of the seventh.
Jalisco starter Brennan Bernardino
and four relievers scattered 10 hits and four walks as Los Mochis went
2-for-14
with runners in scoring position and stranded 15 on base. Nick Struck
did not
pitch badly for the Caneros, allowing one earned run on three hits in
four
innings, but his offense just couldn't put together enough support.
Just off the Mex Pac pace are
Mexicali and Obregon, who are tied for third with identical 7-5
records. The
Aguilas lost a tough 6-5 game in Navojoa Sunday after trailing 6-0
heading into
the seventh. Reynaldo Rodriguez (a former twins farmhand) just missed
hitting
for the cycle, delivering a double, triple and two-run homer for
Mexicali.
Likewise, Obregon fell a game back by losing on the road in Guasave,
4-2,
Sunday. The Yaquis could only gather seven hits, two by Victor Mendoza,
as Nico
Tellache won his fifth for the Algodoneros.
Tellache is one of five pitchers
tied for second in wins in the LMP, one behind the six of Hermosillo's
Wilmer
Rios. Rios has won five games in a row with one no-decision since
November 4,
lowering his ERA from 7.84 to 2.24 in his last eight starts. Los
Mochis' Luis
Miranda, who'd given up one earned run in his first seven starts,
allowed four
against Jalisco last Friday and saw his ERA jump from 0.20 to 0.92 but
that
still leads the Mex Pac. Juan Pablo Oramas of Hermosillo is second at
1.28 while
Mazatlan's Casey Harman's 1.83 ranks third. Two strikeouts separate the
three
league leaders as the 50 K's of Matt Pobereyko (Guasave) and Manny
Barreda
(Culiacan) lead the 48 by Luis Payan (Navojoa). Mazatlan's Elkin Alcala
has
recorded three saves since the start of December to bring his season
total to
15, three more than the 12 each of Josh Leuke (Jalisco) and Brandon
Koch
(Guasave).
Monterrey's Roberto Valenzuela saw
his batting average drop from .380 to .363 over his last six games but
he still
enjoys a comfortable lead over Justin Dean (.339) and Yosmany Tomas
(.330),
both of Los Mochis. Mexicali's Anthony Giansanti belted a homer against
Mazatlan last Tuesday to pull into a lead with Jesse Castillo of
Guasave at 10
apiece. Obregon's Sebastian Valle is third with eight dingers. The
Caneros'
Tomas now leads in RBIs with 37, ahead of Obregon teammates Victor
Mendoza (36)
and Yadir Drake (35). A nice race in stolen bases (so to speak) has
developed
between Randy Romero of Mazatlan and Hermosillo's Jose Cardona, who
have 18 and
17 swipes, respectively. Justin Dean (Los Mochis) and Jared Oliva
(Monterrey)
are tied with 14 each.
LIM: YUCATAN SOUTH CHAMP; MONCLOVA, PUEBLA IN FINALS
In restructuring the Mexican Winter
League for a second season after its revival last winter, the Mexican
League
created a somewhat-unwieldy circuit with ten teams representing 14 LMB
clubs
(including four combined squads) spread out over three divisions:
Monclova,
Monterrey and Union Laguna in the North; Mexico City/Oaxaca,
Veracruz/Leon and
Puebla in the Central; and Durango, Yucatan, Tabasco/Guadalajara and
Tijuana/Aguascalientes in the South.
The format made for uneven
scheduling and at least one team sitting out every day during the
regular
season between October 12 and November 28. Teams in the LIM North and
Central
played 24 games each while LIM South clubs, all playing in Yucatan
towns, took
the field 28 times. It was determined at one time that the South
Division
playoff winner would serve as a stand-alone champion among their larger
group
of teams while North and Central playoff winners would meet in the
Serie del
Principe for the nominal LIM championship, which was won by Monclova
last
winter.
Yucatan earned the LIM South title
by defeating the combined Tijuana/Aguascalientes club in three playoff
games,
including last Thursday's 7-6 win in Uman. Leones starter Cesar
Cervantes
pitched seven innings to earn the win while closer Anhuar Garcia got
the save.
Garcia was the LIM's leader in salvados during the regular season.
Toros
prospect Porfirio Guerrero was tagged with the loss.
"I'm very happy and very proud
of the boys,” said Leones sports manager Santos Hernandez. “We're sure
that
they will continue to show great capacity for this sport and I'm very
grateful
to all those fans who have been supporting these future stars from day
one."
Meanwhile, Monclova and Puebla have
already begun their Serie del Principe rematch from last season, which
was won
by the Acereros in dramatic fashion on Shawon Dunston, Junior's walkoff
homer
in the bottom of the tenth in the fifth and deciding game. Monclova is
managed
by Matias Carrillo while Hector Hurtado, who spent 22 seasons as a
catcher in
the Mexican League, is dugout boss for the Pericos, who he led to an
LIM-best
16-7-1 record during the regular season.
The first two games took place in
Estadio Monclova, where Puebla won Saturday's opener in a 2-1 pitcher's
duel.
Pericos starter Hector Sepulveda contributed five shutout inning to
earn the
win while Parakeets reliever Jose Hernandez sparkled by striking out
all five
Acereros batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings. Puebla
took a 1-0
lead in the top of the second on Herman Alvarado's RBI single and the
visitors
added a run in the eighth on a run-scoring one-bagger by Giancarlo
Servin. With
runners at the corners and nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, the
Acereros
pulled off a double steal that brought Evan Carrillo home from third to
break
the shutout bid and narrow Puebla's lead to one. That was as good as it
would
get as Caleb Perez ultimately grounded to Luis Medina at third for the
final
out.
MEXICAN
WINTER LEAGUE Final 2022 Standings
North: Monclova 14-8-2, Monterrey 10-12-2, Union
Laguna 9-13-2.
Central: Puebla 16-7-1, Mexico City/Oaxaca 14-10-0,
Veracruz/Leon 5-18-1.
South: Yucatan 14-10-2, Tijuana/Aguascalientes
15-11-1, Tabasco/Guadalajara 12-12-2, Durango 9-17-1.
